This invention relates generally as indicated to a piston rod assembly including a piston head and composite rod, and to the method of assembling such piston head onto such rod. The piston head is desirably made of metal and includes two separate sections which are slid onto the rod from opposite ends and forced toward one another up against opposite sides of an entrapment ridge on the composite rod to provide a desired compression preload at the interface therebetween.
Making the piston rod out of fibrous composite materials has the advantage that the weight of the piston rod can be substantially reduced without sacrificing strength. This can be particularly beneficial, for example, when the piston rod is used in fluid actuators for flight controls for high performance aircraft and other high pressure applications. However, this necessitates that the piston head be formed separately from the piston rod. Accordingly, an effective method of attaching the piston head to the composite rod must be provided.